Schools to conduct fresh draws, nursery admissions delayed

The Delhi Directorate of Education (DOE) on Friday issued a new notification asking schools to conduct a fresh draw for all candidates having equal marks, as per the high court's orders. This will delay the admission process by another month.

The DOE said the first admission list in all schools will have to come out on or before April 7. This means that the new academic session for the tiny tots will begin in May this year. The second admission list has to be declared by April 15 and subsequent lists will have to be declared on April 16 and April 21, respectively. The admission process has to close by April 25.

The fresh draw poses serious problems for schools that have already admitted students and taken the fee. The dates also prolong parents' anxiety and misery.

The decision to postpone the admission process was taken keeping in mind the ongoing board exams in schools across the city. School bodies, meanwhile, maintain that this confusion would not have been created had they been consulted in the very beginning.

"The nursery admission guidelines change every year. Policy changes also take place but this is for the first time that schools have been kept out of the loop. Had the decisions been taken keeping the schools' suggestions in minds as well, this could have been avoided. The anxiety and extreme difficulty that parents are facing is because of a non-participative policy-making," said Ameeta Wattal, chairperson, National Progressive Schools' Conference.

"Those schools that have already given admission to students will face a lot of problem. The NPSC, however, thanks CBSE for intervening and ensuring that the lottery dates were shifted so that the main board examinations would be over by the time the first list is to be declared," she added.

Parents on the other hand are a confused lot.

"I was selected in the previous lottery and have already paid the fee. I don't know what to do now. This year has been a nightmare and there is still no clarity," said Naveen Jain, a parent.